Behind the scenes of KOOK, a short film by Drew Bachrach

Drew worked with upcoming actors Jesse Henderson and Ruth Reynolds on KOOK. While filming in Idaho he hooked up with none other than Erik Bailey for the blading stunts. While the film is being edited, Drew shared some behind the scenes shots and stories with us:

Drew: Erik Bailey was the one that came up with the innital idea for shooting a film in Idaho. We were sipping some beers at Kyler Martz art show at the Them Goods store and came up with the basic idea. We both thought it was high time for the world to see a movie where rollerblading was represented correctly and wasn’t just used as a punch line. I went home that night and a week later I had the script ready to go.

The film is the story of two kids. Coley, a misunderstood and marginalized rollerblader and Axela, the hot chick in town with something to prove.

Axela is played by the very talented Ruth Reynolds. I asked a lot of our actors on set. We shot 16 hours a day for 4 days straight and everyone chipped in to move gear and make sure everything turned out perfectly. This project would not have been possible without everyone in the cast and crew giving 150% every day. You can check out Ruth’s previous film ‘The Guest House’ on Netflix right now.

Jon Julio has been a supporter of the project form day one. When we needed skates and clothes to use as props, Jon stepped right up and delivered custom Valos and gear. I see this film as an extension of the Blade Cup show we did last summer. Just another example of ‘bladers taking the bull by the horns and making things happen.

Erik Bailey was on board as gaffer, fixer, driver and stunt man. Most of the crew had never met a professional rollerblader before, and everyone was struck by how mellow, down to earth, and willing to help out Erik was. Big thanks to EB for going that extra mile.

We shot the film with the Cannon C300. The low light characteristics of this camera allowed for us to shoot in the crazy locations with minimal lighting gear. This was especially helpful when we were 100ft underground in a cave in the middle of a national park. Right here the camera is mounted to the side of our 1967 Chevy pickup. We left this shot till the final day in case anything went wrong with our rigging. Luckily the shot worked out perfectly.

Big high fives after finishing the last shot of the film. The Idaho shoot trip was one of the most fun weeks I have ever had. I am proud of how the final product is looking and am excited to share it with the world.

In the mean time I could really use the support of all ‘bladers from around the world. The easiest way you can get involved is by liking the KOOK facebook page at: www.Facebook.com/KookTheMovie

About The Author

Back in 1997 we started with our first e-mail newsletter which soon turned into a website. In 2001 we launched the first issue of Be-mag Print. Besides that we're producing fashion and have released 4 DVDs.